As I stood in the doorway of The Diner on a late Sunday morning, waiting for my table while scanning the wipeboard for specials, a dark-haired woman threw open the front door and shuffled past me, searching for the host.
“Have you been here before?” she asked when she realized the host was making the rounds.
“No, it’s my first time,” I answered, keeping it brief.
“Oh, you’re going to love it. Everything’s so good! It seems like it’s always busy here nowadays!”
I laughed as I landed on those counter seats I had been admiring, the perfect perch for a view of the action. Cheerful staffers arrived and departed as they do, avocado toast and meatloaf firing from the kitchen, my water refilled at every turn. And I delved into the history of The Diner, a new favorite spot with a mighty mission beyond slinging salads and sandwiches.
The Diner encourages intergenerational social interaction by welcoming a diverse crowd of people – business professionals, families, individuals, and older adults alike.
Settle Into A Seat at The Diner
The bright dining room, reminiscent of decades-old dining experiences gone by, is the community-driven vision of Meals on Wheels People. CEO Suzanne Washington researched the concept extensively, visiting a handful of senior spaces across the country before engaging staff and volunteers in the design of a restaurant that would ensure a meal and a gathering place for seniors in the southwest Washington community.
“We are unique,” Janice Butzke, Operations Manager for Meals on Wheels People, starts excitedly as we settle into a booth at The Diner during my second visit to the restaurant.
“Meals on Wheels People is over 55 years old. We’re in Multnomah County (Oregon), Washington County (Oregon), and Clark County (Washington). About eight or nine years ago, we had this vision. Feeding seniors, we all get that. Most people tend to think of an elderly person. A homebound person could be anyone in our community who cannot provide themselves with a nutritious meal, regardless of status. ”
In 2024, Meals on Wheels People delivered over 1 million meals to nearly 9,000 older adults last year – an 8% increase from the year prior. But as factors shift with age, including mobility, accessibility, and how we communicate, many seniors struggle to maintain their connection to the community around them.
“There’s also the isolation aspect,” Butzke continues. “Something we had seen prior to the pandemic, but not to such an extreme. With a With a Meals on Wheels People meal delivery, we are oftentimes the only people that homebound individuals see during their week. Pre-Covid, we were open five days a week – Monday, we’d see Jane, Tuesday, we’d see Jane, etc. We could bring her a hot meal or a fresh salad every day. We saw her every day. When Covid hit, we were flipped on our ears because we couldn’t do that anymore. We’d see Jane once a week and bring her five refrigerated or frozen meals for the week, but we couldn’t give fresh salads anymore. We had to switch to fresh supplements, like fruit, bread, and other weekly staples. It was a huge adjustment for us, including a cost increase, but our folks needed the help. To support the change, we developed a Friendly Chats program to help with that lack of interaction. Now Jane is receiving meals once a week, but we’ll also call and check in on her a few days later, or when there’s a safety or weather concern.
“We’ve expanded on that isolation piece to develop ‘congregate’ sites – usually in community or senior centers. In Clark County, we currently have six congregant sites, and we are very inclusive to everyone. We understand that people are going to the congregant sites, but when you visit, they’re very community-center-like: round tables and chairs, a set menu, set times, the same folks every visit.”
From Senior Center to Centered Around Seniors
“Across the board, across the nation, the idea is to do something like The Diner because those of us who are either 60 or coming into 60 want something different,” explains Butzke, a vibrant 50-something. “The younger seniors who are starting to come through are going to yoga, they exercise regularly. Maybe they want a mimosa with friends on the weekend. It’s a whole different generation.”
We’ve created this restaurant for two purposes – 1) to get that isolation piece out and bring families and communities together and 2) for seniors to come in and feel as though they still have purpose and a place in society with options that are easy on the wallet.
Though Butzke has worked with local Meals on Wheels organizations for over a decade, launching such an endeavor was a new experience for many involved. Hiring was a particular challenge, given the unusual employment structure of the restaurant.
“The most important thing to us was to be available for our participants. To make that work, we determined in our strategy planning that we wanted the employees at The Diner to feel like they’re part of the bigger picture, not just a restaurant. So employees are paid the same way I am – they get the same benefits, PTO, wellness. They are Meals on Wheels People employees who do not rely on tips or gratuities.”
At The Diner, any gratuities paid on a check beyond the cost of the meal help to offset the difference in the “pay-what-you-can” program. A post-meal donation of fifty dollars, for instance, can help to cover ten meals for seniors who are unable to pay full price.
“In February of 2019, we just sorta opened the doors and said, Here we are. How do we navigate? We’re in the Meals on Wheels business, not the restaurant business. And suddenly, we’re in the restaurant business,” Butzke laughs of the venture.
“During Covid, we only had two people here, and moved to to-go orders, and that’s how we survived. Ricardo Gonzalez, our manager, has been here from the beginning. He knows restaurants. He was just trying to get through what was happening and keep us afloat. Restaurants were closing left and right.”
Miraculously, The Diner survived the treacherous time, growing in popularity post-lockdown. Monthly, over 300 meals are served through the weekday Diners Club program, with many participants coming in more than once a week. The cold case is stocked with pies and baked goods made from scratch, and breakfast is served all day. The dining room – wheelchair-accessible and kid-friendly, with seating for up to 70 diners – is often full during weekday lunches and weekend brunches.
“When Suzanne did her research, the locations she found were more of a flux of seniors for a few days and the general public on the other few days. We needed to combine that because the purpose of The Diner is to let your mom, my mom, my grandma, come in, sit at a booth, and not feel separated from everyone else. Be able to come in and have a meal with the public.
“We’ve created a special menu that has eight or nine things on it that are geared specifically for healthy senior adults, following federal nutrition guidelines. Instead of french fries, they’re going to get a salad. Instead of soda, they’ll get milk. If they choose to get an additional cup of coffee or an extra plate of food, that’s an additional cost that they would choose to pay themselves. Seniors can come in for a meal during the week, alone or with friends or family, and order off the Diners Club menu of healthy senior options. They can use their Diners Club card, scan the QR code, and get themselves a healthy meal at a price they can afford.”
Critical Spaces for Community Faces
While Meals on Wheels America is a national organization that works to support community-based programs across the country, each local program operates independently. For instance, as Butzke explained, the Phoenix location, where she began her career, is fully funded by federal programs. In contrast, Meals on Wheels People is a nonprofit that relies heavily on community support — nearly 90% of its operations are volunteer-driven, with about 35% of its funding comes from the Older Americans Act, a program facing uncertainty under the current administration.
“The OAA – the Older Americans Act – is a federal program. We’ll see what happens in the next few months, but the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter – we’re still going to feed them. That’s what we are. No matter what’s taken away, we’re still going to feed them. No matter what happens, we’re still going to be there. We won’t let folks go hungry. We’re not going to stop our programs. We’ll do what we have to do.”
“Volunteers, sponsors, individuals – anybody and everybody! We look to everyone to help us continue the funding of what we do.”
You can support the Meals on Wheels People mission by visiting The Diner, donating through the Meals on Wheels People website, or participating in the upcoming GiveBIG campaign, running April 22-May 7, 2025.
The Older Americans Act provides funding for senior-focused services such as delivery of meals, home healthcare, job training, and protection from abuse. At the end of 2024, Congress voted to extend funding only until March 2025, leaving the health and care of millions of seniors in this country up in the air. In January 2025, the National Council on Aging noted that the reauthorization of funds was still on hold.
Call and email your local representatives often to remind them how critical funding from the Older Americans Act is to all communities across the United States.
~Jennifer Matthewson
Photos: Jennifer Matthewson / Daily Blender